Brotherly Love 2
by kyobu
Summary: [the untitled story] The weekend's finally up and it's time to got back to school, but what will everyone think now that they know about Sasuke's secret? Will they treat him like he always feared he would? ItaSasu GaaraNaru SasuNaru AU
1. A Break From the Story Line

-1(First off, I'd like to thank my nee-chan for all her help with this, if it wasn't for her, this wouldn't have gotten done. Thank you soooo much!!!)

**Chapter one: A break from the story line**

(We are going to use your imagination and pretend for the next however long that today is Saturday, because Wednesdays just don't fit into my story, for the time being. And so, officially, as soon as you read this, it's Saturday. On with the story!!)

Sasuke slowly opened his eyes and watched as his blurred vision cleared and he could see properly. He rolled over to where his brother had been not long ago, only to find a rose in his place. Disappointed, he reached his hand out and closed his pale fingers around the stem of the rose, tenderly brining it towards his face to smell it. "Roses smell so pretty…but I'd prefer if you were here." he said, releasing the rose and rolling onto his brother's side of the bed, burying his face in Itachi's pillow.

He took in a deep breath, inhaling the older boy's scent that he loved so much. After a few moments he let it back out and rolled on to his back. He laid like that for a few minutes before sitting up and sliding off the bed and heading over to their shared closet and getting dressed.

He was about to open the door and leave the room when he remembered the rose his brother had left him, "I should put that in some water." he thought out loud as he went to get it.

He opened the door and took a step out, only to pulling back seconds later in pain. He looked down and saw a trail of roses along the hall way, creating a trail. He picked up each new rose as he went and added them to his quickly growing pile.

The trail ended in the kitchen and he went to go get a vase to put the flowers in. Once all the flowers were in a vase, he decided to put it on the table. He placed them down in the center and noticed a little note and chocolate heart, wrapped in pink and red tinfoil.

He picked up the note. Leaving the candy, and read it out loud to himself, "_If you want to find me, solve this rhyme; but try no to take too much time. I'm some where you watch, but can't be seen; I'm hidden behind a great big screen._ Screen? The T.V. room!"

He walked into the living room and was saddened by the lack of his brother's presence. Figuring there must be another not somewhere in the room, he went over to the television. He re-read the first note, "_Somewhere you watch, but can't bee seen_. Does that mean behind it?" Sure enough, there was a note taped to the back of the television along with a heart shaped lollipop. He pocketed the candy, figuring it wouldn't melt in his pocket, and pulled the note off of the back of the T.V.

"_Congrats, you found me, off to a good start; but in order to find me, you'll have to play your part. The nest clue's in a place you've already looked; where both out shirts and sweaters are hooked._ 'Hooked' as in fishing hook? No, you don't hook clothes; you hang them up…That's it! The closet!!" He quickly headed up to their bedroom and threw open the closed door and found the nest note and a paper heart taped to the inside of the door.

He took down the note, leaving the heart on the door, and read it out loud, "_Get ready for a long day; this game is really fun to play. The next place is he best; a comfy place where we both rest._ The bed!!"

He hoped on the bed and found another lollipop taped to the next note card on one of the pillows, placed in such a way that unless you were on the bed looking for it, you wouldn't see it. He, again, pocketed the lollipop and read the note aloud, "_You found me quickly, you're quite sharp; next is the place where you can hear a harp…_But we don't have a harp…Oh! The music room!"

Sasuke had been solving riddles all morning, and he was getting quite hungry as he had skipped breakfast and it was nearing noon. Needless to say, he was glad when a note led him into the kitchen, thinking he'd grab a snack before going back on the seemingly endless search for his brother.

A small smile graced his lips as he spotted the next note on the counter atop some onigiri. The note read _'You've done good, you'll find me soon; have some lunch, it's almost noon.'_ As he downed the rest of the juice in the glass left nest to where his lunch had been he found the next note taped to the bottom of the glass.

A few hours had passed, and Sasuke started wondering if he'd ever find his brother when he finally found the second-to-last note. "_Nice job, bro, next one's the last; the next place ended you in a cast._ The dock! Last year I fell and broke my arm there!"

A few minutes later, Sasuke stood on the end of the dock, last note in hand, "_It's finally over, leap and bound; if you want to see me, just turn around._" He quickly spun around and, sure enough, there was Itachi, standing at the other end of the dock, smirking.

"Itachi!" Sasuke yelled, running into his brothers waiting arms.

"Happy Valentines Day, Sasuke." said Itachi bending down to capture his little brothers lips in a sweet kiss. Itachi nipped at the younger boy's lip, silently asking for permission to deepen the kiss, which was granted almost immediately. They both pulled away a few minutes later, from lack of oxygen.

Sasuke wrapped his arms tightly around his brother's neck, pulling him closer until their foreheads were touching. "I love you." he whispered.

"I love you, too." replied Itachi, smiling before closing the distance between them and pressing their lips together in another kiss.

(that's it for now…i'll get back to the actual story line next chappy. i'm a bit rusty, it seems, as i haven't written anything like this in soooo long…but that's all going to change soon! please review and let me know what you think!)


	2. Back to School

**Chapter 2: Back to school!**

(fore notes- i wanted to see where i had left off in the previous story, so i decided to re-read it, and it was so horrible i had to put it down! later i went back and read it to the end, and it was pretty good, but that first part…ugh…)

"…suke…Sasuke, c'mon, you have to get up. It's almost time for school." said Itachi.

Sasuke opened his eyes and sat up. He threw his arms around his brothers neck and kissed him lightly on the lips, "Good morning." he said, letting go. The events of the previous week came back to him and he flopped back down on the bed. "I don't want to go to school!"

"Why not?" asked Itachi, sitting on the end of their bed.

Sasuke glared at his older brother. "You know what happened Friday. I practically told the whole school I'm in love with you."

"Is there something wrong with being in love with me?" questioned the older boy looking quite annoyed.

"No." replied Sasuke, "I'm glad I fell in love with you. But I'm worried about that everyone else will thing and that they'll treat me differently."

"If they can't accept you for who you are, then they're not a very good friend."

"Dose that mean Naruto's not my friend? He usually calls me five times a day on the weekends, and he didn't call at all."

"I think he knew you needed some time alone."

"How would he know that?" Sasuke asked, cocking an eyebrow, "He barely even passes his classes."

"There are different kinds of smarts." the older Uchiha chided, "There are people like us, who are book smart, and there's people like him who are street smart."

"Naruto's definitely not street smart, do you know how many times he's almost gotten himself hit?"

"I don't mean like that, I mean that he's more in tune to other people and can almost instantly pick up on how they're feeling."

"Really? How do you know?"

"I may not be as in tune to others as he is, but after watching you two for years, I've noticed how he almost always knows how you're feeling. Now Let's go get some breakfast before you're late to school."

A few minutes later, Sasuke was walking towards where he and Naruto met up every weekday. The talk he had with Itachi earlier mad him feel a little better, but he was still worried. He had been so wrapped up in his thoughts he didn't even realize he had met up with Naruto until they were about half way to the school when the blonde boy forced him into reality.

"Hello!" said Naruto, waving his hand in front of the older boy's face, "Any body home?"

"Huh?" Sasuke asked, confused as to what was going on for a second. He slapped his friends hand away, only to be greeted with a worried face.

"Are you okay, Sasuke? You've been completely spacey all morning. Did you not get enough sleep last night? You look more worried than tired, though. What's on you're mind?"

"You're talking to fast again, dobe."

"What's. Bugging. You?" said Naruto, leaving a pause between each word.

'Could you really be _that_ stupid?' he thought bitterly as he gave his friend a scornful look. "Did you not hear anything I said Friday!? I told the entire school my biggest secret! Don't you think I'm some kind of sick freak? Aren't you disgusted by what I said? I'm in _love_ with my _brother_, Naruto! That's not normal! Don't you get it!?"

Naruto punched the older boy (totally anime style!!) in the face, enraged by his friend's outburst. "_Don't_ yell at me when I'm trying to be nice to you! Okay?! And so what if you love Itachi? You love who you love, you can't help it! And you're still the same Sasuke I've known and loved, just because I found out something new about you doesn't change who you are and what we've been through together!"

Sasuke sat on the ground, holding his bruised cheek, to shocked to do anything but watch as his friend yelled at him. After a few minutes (I say that a lot…), Naruto calmed down and offered Sasuke a hand up. "C'mon," he said, using a gentler tone of voice, "let's go, or we'll be late for school. I'm already late for meeting Gaara."

"Why are we meeting Gaara?" Sasuke asked taking the offered hand.

"_We_'re not," he said, bending down to pick up his dropped book bag, "_I_ am." Sasuke shot his friend a questioning glance. "What, I'm not allowed to have a personal life? And you might want to get some ice for your cheek."

Sasuke walked down the halls of the school alone, as Naruto had gone off to be with Gaara, fully aware of the disgusted glares and whispering directed at him. He sighed and continued on his way. Everyone cleared a path for him, as if afraid to be touched by him and be 'infected' with gayness.

The whole class fell silent as he walked in the room and he could feel and see his classmates watch him as he walked to his seat and sat down. Almost immediately, the whole room erupted in whispers. Sasuke pretended to ignore them, but was having a hard time not listening. He kept hearing things like 'Figures, almost all the good looking guys are gay…', 'What happened to his cheek? Did he get in a fight?' and 'Oh my God! Is that a hickey on his neck (1)?'

When he heard the last remark he, with out thinking, went to touch the spot on his neck. He quickly pulled his hand away when he realized what he was doing. 'Wait a minute…' he thought, realization dawning on him, 'That means they can see it…' He bowed his head as his face turned a bright shade of red, which only caused a further uproar of whispers.

"Bye, Gaara!" said a familiar voice from outside the classroom. A few seconds later, Naruto entered the room, walked down one of the isles and sat in his seat in front of Sasuke. "Ne? What's wrong, Sasuke?" he asked, turning around, his voice reasonably quiet for him, even though it seemed as loud as usual because the rest of the class was silently watching them. "Do you have a fever? You look all red." he said, pushing their foreheads together to compare body temperatures. "Hmm…You have a little bit of a fever, and I see you didn't get any ice for your cheek." Just then the bell rang and the teacher walked in.

"Sensei!!" he exclaimed, almost jumping out of his seat, "Sasuke has a fever, can I take him to the nurse?"

"Sure, that was the first bell, so you don't need a pass."

"Thank you!" he said, practically dragging the older boy out the door.

"Where are we going, dobe? The nurse's office is the other way!"

"I know." he said, winking at his best friend, "We're not going to the nurses office."

Naruto dragged Sasuke through the hallways, up and unfamiliar stair way, and to a door he hadn't known even existed. After playing with the lock for a moment, he threw open the door to reveal the roof. He immediately ran out onto it, arms stretched out wide, facing the sun that was still relatively low in the sky. The wind blew gently through his beautiful golden locks and caressed his tanned cheeks as he smiled happily.

Sasuke opted to sit down on, one leg underneath him, the other he hugged to his chest with one arm, rubbing the back of his neck with his other hand, still feeling very self conscious about it being completely visible for everyone to see, and what the whole school would think of his playing hooky with another boy. "Why'd we come here?" he asked Naruto, feeling very miserable.

"You looked like you needed to get away." He turned around to face his friend, letting his arms fall to his sides, "So what happened in the ten minutes I left you alone that made you upset?"

"Nothing…" he lied, rubbing the back of his neck some more.

"Obviously something happened, because you definitely weren't like this when I left you."

Sasuke continued to rub his neck in a vain attempt to make the mark on his disappear, trying to think up a good excuse to tell his friend. "And what's up with your neck?" questioned the blonde boy, "You've been rubbing it nonstop."

Sasuke quickly pulled his hand away and wrapped his arm around his leg, resting his chin on this knee avoiding eye contact with the younger boy. Naruto sighed and walked over to Sasuke, sitting down next the raven haired boy. They sat in silence for a while, the wind gently blowing through their hair (because it just makes them look that much hotter lol)

"Well, if you're not going to talk," said Naruto, "then I will." He took in a deep breath before letting it out slowly. "For the last couple years…" he said hesitantly, "I've been in love with you…"

To be continued…

(i am sooo sorry for taking so long to update, and this story wouldn't be up today if i hadn't got the sudden urge to start typing at eleven o'clock last night…i'm sorry about the cliffhanger, if you can even call it that (i just couldn't resist). my imouto said it was pathetic and my dad, who happened to be in the room, was making fun of me calling it a speed bump (though he didn't read the story). well, let me know what you think!!)

(1) he got one last time…and if they don't last that long pretend he got one over the weekend XD


	3. Confession of a teenage love

**Chapter 3: Confessions of a teenage love**

(fore notes- whoosh!! chapter 3!! i feel like i'm going to puke! weeeee!!! on with the story!!)

The blonde boy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "For the last couple years…" he said, pausing, not entirely sure he wanted to continue, "I've been in love with you."

Sasuke stared at eh younger boy, disbelief clearly written on his face. Suddenly (and totally uncharacteristically) he burst out laughing at the absurdness of what his friend had just said. "That's a good one, Naruto." he said, his laughter dieing down. "You? In love with me?" He couldn't help but double up again, his laughter renewed.

"Sh-shut up, teme!!!" said a completely embarrassed Naruto, who was now red from ear to ear.

Sasuke looked at his friend and immediately stopped laughing. "You mean you're serious?"

"Of course I'm serious, teme! You think I'd make something like this up?!"

'Well…yeah…' he thought, but he wasn't about to tell Naruto that for fear of being punched again. "Wow…" he said, "Just…wow…I never would have guessed…How long have you liked me?"

Naruto stuck his tongue out at the older boy. "You have to tell me something first, it's only fair! So what did they do to get you so upset?"

"How come you get to pick what I tell you?" asked Sasuke, slightly ticked at having walked right into his friends trap, but two could play at that game. "It wasn't really anything they said, but more of how they were acting."

"And what about your neck?"

"You have to answer my question first, dobe."

"Fine, seventh grade, now show me."

Sasuke debated how he should tell Naruto and decided just to show him. He turned to face the younger boy and tilted his head to the side, pulling slightly at his shirt collar.

Naruto turned bright red at the temptation to leave his own mark on the pale skin.

"What were you doing with Gaara this morning?" questioned Sasuke as he shifted his position to a slightly more comfortable one, not that you can get very comfortable on the school roof…

Naruto stuck his tongue out at his best friend. "I don't have to tell you!"

"Why not?" Sasuke demanded.

"Because I don't have any more questions for you."

"Not fair!" he exclaimed, "And besides, you owe me a question, dobe."

"Since when, teme?! And don't call me that!"

"Since Friday, when I practically told the whole school I'm in love with Itachi!"

"Naruto pouted cutely. "That doesn't seem fair to me, but fine. What was the question again?"

Sasuke was tempted to smack his blonde friend. "What's up with you and Gaara all of a sudden?" he asked, rephrasing his question to better fit what he meant.

"Hmmm…" Naruto pondered, putting his finger to his lips, trying to think of a way to put it. Deciding on the simplest, most forward and bluntest way he could put it, smiling sheepishly he said, "He's my boyfriend!"

"Really?" asked Sasuke, turning to face Naruto, who nodded, still smiling happily. "Wow…I don't think I saw that coming…"

"Well I didn't exactly expect to find out my best friend sleeps with his older brother."

Sasuke blushed, "Shut up." he said, punching his friend playfully on the arm.

"You mean you really do?!" disbelief now clearly written on his face.

"Well…we share a bed. I made him promise to marry me before we do anything like what you're thinking of."

"Not that it really matters, you couldn't get pregnant anyway."

"Neither could you, dobe!" he said, defensively.

"Yeah," countered Naruto, "that would require me to be _uke_, which I definitely won't be."

Sasuke gave the blonde a skeptical. "I bet you'd be the perfect uke."

"You've given this some thought?" Naruto laughed as his friend turned completely red. "I'd appreciate it if you'd keep your mind out of my sex life."

"Like I'd want anything to do with _your_ sex life, dobe."

"I don't know whether I should be relieved or insulted, and stop calling me dobe!"

They sat in a comfortable silence until the bell rang a few minutes later, and even then they just kind of sat their. After a few minutes, Sasuke stood up and offered a hand to his blonde friend, "C'mon, let's go to class."

Naruto sighed, "Fine." He grabbed his friends hand and started pulling himself off the roof, but ended up slipping, bringing Sasuke down with him (you can see where i'm going with this -:wink:- ).

"Hey, Naruto, you up here?" Gaara asked, pushing open the door to the roof the rest of the way (it had been left ajar), "You weren't in your class so…" his voice trailed off as he saw Sasuke straddling Naruto's hips, their lips locked and cheeks burning.

To be continued…

(a/n: he he he…i had to…i'm starting to like cliffhangers. the ending kind of reminds me of Gravitation Ex (except w/o the kamagoro (sp?) outfit and violence). fourth chappy should be up soon, i'm almost half way through it already also, this story hasn't been getting that many reviews, and i was wondering if there was something i could do to improve it (besides add more itasasu) well, 'til next time, ja!)


	4. Undetermined

**Chapter 4: Undetermined**

(fore notes: i am sooo sorry this took so long to come out! i'd plead writers block, but in truth, i just didn't want to type (and for the majority of the time didn't have the opportunity to type)…TTTT please forgive me!!)

Gaara stood; hand still on the doorknob, frozen in place, staring at the sight in front of him. Sasuke was straddling and kissing his boyfriend. Although in reality it was only a few seconds until they parted, it felt like and eternity to Gaara.

Both boys looked at him guiltily, and Naruto started rambling about what had happened, quickly trying to explain the awkward situation they were in in a jumble of almost incomprehensible words, "It's not what it looks like! He was just, and I slipped, and we fell, and…"

"Shut up!" Gaara yelled, furrowing what would have been his eyebrows if he had any, "I thought you said you were over him!" He stormed off, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Kuso." Naruto swore.

"What?" asked Sasuke, finally realizing he was still straddling the blonde and standing up.

"Two things." he said, holding up two fingers, "First, Gaara's really really mad and me, though it's nobody's fault, and second, we're locked up here."

"WHAT?!" exclaimed the raven haired boy, "I thought you unlocked it!"

"I did," Naruto sighed, "But not from this side."

"Ugh. Then how are we going to get down?"

"Jump?" he half asked/half stated.

Sasuke walked to the side of the roof and looked over the edge. "I'm not jumping." He walked back over to the blonde and sat down again, thinking, "Do you think there are any trees we could use to climb down?"

"No." Naruto sighed again, resting his head in the palm of his hand. "If there was one, we could get down with, we could use it to get back up, and the boe (1) doesn't want that."

"Darn…So we have to wait 'til someone comes up here?"

"Basically."

"Who the -h-word- is going to come up here?! _I_ didn't even know this place existed! And it's not like some janitor's going to come by to clean the roof!"

"You'd be surprised. Ouji often come up here to eat lunch."

"Who?"

"Ouji, the janitor." (lol)

"So we're going to be stuck up here for half the day…"

"Shut up, teme! Unless you have your own private hot air balloon that could land on the school roof or something and get us down, just shut up!"

"Couldn't we just call the fire department or something?" he asked after a few minutes of angry silence.

"You really want to draw attention to the fact that we got ourselves locked on the roof?"

"No, but I don't see you offering ideas." Sasuke was slowly growing angrier with his blonde friend.

"I told you, Ouji will be up here around lunch time."

"You said 'maybe,' which means there's a chance he won't come up."

"If he doesn't, we'll figure out what to do after words, until then, he's coming!"

"Don't snap at me, Naruto. If anything, this is your fault." countered the raven bitterly.

"How the -H-word- is it my fault, teme?!"

"You're the one who slipped ant pulled me down with you. If you hadn't been so stupid and clumsy we wouldn't be in this mess."

"I thought we decided earlier it wasn't anybody's fault! And if you wanna blame somebody, blame yourself for not taking into account me 'stupidity' before offering me a hand up, when I was fully capable of getting up on my own!"

"We wouldn't even _be_ on the roof if you hadn't dragged me up here!"

"Sorry for caring about you! Would you have preferred if I had left you in class? I didn't know it was a crime to care for the people you love!" he yelled, glaring at the older boy and 'hmph'-ing as he turned away.

They continued to sit/stand there, glaring in opposite directions as they waited, and angry silence quickly filling the area surrounding them. Sasuke stole a glance at the blonde over his shoulder, feeling bad for going off at his friend when Naruto really hadn't done anything wrong, although Sasuke would never admit it. They stayed like that until lunch when the janitor came up and let them down, giving each other the silent treatment for the rest of the day.

Sasuke threw open the door to his house, walked over to the table and slumped into a chair, dropping his backpack nest to him.

"Had a rough day?" asked Itachi as he walked into the room and gave his little brother a hug from behind.

"No thanks to you." replied Sasuke, leaning back into the embrace, moaning softly as Itachi trailed kisses along his neck.

"And why's that?" he asked in between kisses as he worked his way across the younger boy's jaw.

Sasuke pushed his older brother off of him and exposed the offensive mark on his otherwise flawless pale skin. "That's why." he said, just the tiniest hint of anger creeping into his voice.

Itachi smirked, proud of the mark he had left. "If you wanted to hide it, you could have just put some makeup on it, it's not like you don't know how to, you've done it before. And if my memory's correct, you certainly didn't mind getting it."

"But the problem is that I didn't remember I had it until to late. And if it hadn't been for you putting it on me, not that I regret you doing so, I wouldn't be in the mess I'm in now."

Itachi sat down in a seat next to his brother and patted his lap. The younger boy got up from his seat and say back down on his brothers lap, snuggling against his brother as the older boy's arms wrapped around his waist.

"So what mess have you gotten yourself into this time?" Itachi whispered in the younger boy's ear. Sasuke couldn't help but shudder at the feeling of the warm moist breath as it caressed the side of his ear.

"I…I don't know where to start." he said honestly, closing his eyes and trying not to shiver again as his brother let out a sigh, the warm feeling spreading across the back of his neck before disappearing as suddenly as it had come.

"Why don't you start at the beginning?"

After a moment, the words just kept pouring out of him, "ThismorningNarutoandIgotinto afightandhepunchedmeandyelledatmeandwemadeupthenhewentofftomeetGaara,who,by the way,he'snowdating,andIwenttoclassandeveryonewassayingstuffandactinglikeIwas somekindofwildanimalwithsomeinfectious, deadlydiseaseandthenNarutocameinand pretendedtotakemetothenursebuthetookmetotheroofinsteadandwhenwewenttogobackto classIwenttohelphimup'causehehadbeensittingandheslippedandpulledmedownwithhim andweaccidentallykissedandGaarachosetocomeupatthatmomentandlockedusupontheroof andwegotintoanotherfightandwedidn'ttalkfortherestoftheday." he finished, panting slightly.

Itachi blinked, surprised by Sasuke's uncharacteristic response. "What? I didn't understand a word you just said."

Sasuke repeated himself, only shortened it (to make my life easier), "Naruto and I got into a fight after we were caught accidentally kissing on the roof of the school by his boyfriend and got locked up their."

"Why were you on the roof instead of in class?"

"I was being picked on, so Naruto dragged me to the roof."

"And why were you two kissing?" a hind of jealousy could be detected in the older boy's voice.

"I went to help him up when we were going to go back to class and he slipped and dragged me down with him."

"How'd you get locked up there, how'd you get down, and why'd you fight?"

"Gaara came up right after we fell and shut the door, the janitor let us down, and we blamed each other for getting locked up there."

"My head hurts…" he said, rubbing his temples, "Let's order out, I don't feel like cooking."

"Fine, _but_," he said, smirking, "you have to kiss me first."

Itachi smirked back, "Done." he said, crushing their lips together in a passionate kiss. Itachi nibbled on the younger boy's lip, silently asking permission to deepen the kiss. Sasuke complied almost immediately, allowing his brother to explore his mouth and coax his tongue to play. Reluctantly they pulled back so they could breathe. "We'll solve your problem with Naruto after diner. Until the…" he crashed his lips into Sasuke's again for another passionate kiss.

Itachi stroked his younger brother's hair lovingly, smiling at the boy sleeping next to him. "I love you." he whispered, kissing Sasuke on the forehead before drifting off to sleep too.

To be continued…

(a/n: i thought that would be a cute ending thank my friend for giving me the motivation to finish this! it wouldn't be up with out her, even though she'll probably never read this story (she's not a yaoi fan) please review!!)


	5. Reminesence

**Chapter 5: Reminiscence**

(fore notes: this chappy's going to focus on Naruto, for my own seemingly nonexistent reasons)

Naruto slowly trudged to school, not looking forward to the day ahead of him in the slightest. He purposely avoided the place he and Sasuke usually met up, knowing it would probably tick off the Uchiha, but right now he honestly didn't care. He didn't think he could handle being with the older boy after all the cruel things they had said yesterday. Naruto couldn't remember ever staying mad at Sasuke for this long ever before. Even though they fought on a daily basis, they never really meant any of it.

Naruto continued to go over the events of the previous day in his head. Although, he had to admit, the fight was pretty stupid, the stress from being trapped on the roof made everything blown out of proportion and both of them had over reacted, but now it was too late to take it back.

A sad look flashed across his face as he wondered if his relationship with Sasuke would ever be the same, but he quickly replaced it with his trademark foxy grin. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a flash of fire truck red hair that he instantly recognized as his boyfriend. He quickly caught up to the older boy, grabbing his wrist, he whispered in Gaara's ear, "We need to talk."

Gaara quickly spun around in surprise, tugging his wrist free from the younger boy. "No, we don't." he said firmly through clenched teeth.

"Please, let me explain." Naruto pleaded.

"There's nothing to explain. You cheated on me."

"No…well, yes, but I didn't mean to! Can we please talk?" he asked, turning up his puppy dog eyes to 110.

Gaara sighed, finding it hard to deny those cute blue eyes, and noting the stares they were starting to get. "Fine." he said, "But not here."

Naruto's face brightened as a huge grin crossed his face. He wanted to jump and cheer, Gaara was giving him a second chance!

The redhead started walking away, motioning for Naruto to follow him. Gaara led them away from the school, the blonde loyally tagging along behind him, not asking any questions on where they were going.

- - -

Sasuke stared at the empty seat in front of him, slightly worried about his friend's absence and if he had anything to do with it. He made a mental note to track down the blonde boy and apologize to him. He was ripped from his thoughts as the teacher called attention to himself. "Alright, class, today we're doing pages one hundred…"

- - -

Naruto blinked at the familiar surroundings, he hadn't been paying attention to where Gaara was leading them, but instantly recognized where he was. "I haven't been here in forever!" he yelled, running ahead of the older boy and claiming his spot on the old swing set.

"This place sure brings back memories…" Gaara said quietly, sitting down on the swing next to the obnoxiously loud blonde who was busy pumping his legs, trying to get the swing to go higher.

-Flashback-

A redheaded boy, around six or seven, sat, separated from the rest of the group, playing by himself in the sand box. He didn't care to join the others, and didn't think they'd let him, even if he did. They left him alone and he did the same.

"Hi!" He looked up to see a blonde boy around his age with whisker like markings on his cheeks smiling down at him. "I'm Naruto! What's your name?"

Gaara stared at the blonde, not sure if he was here of his own free will or if he had been dared to approach him by the older kids at daycare. "Gaara." he said finally, tuning his attention back his pile of sand.

Naruto squatted down in front of him. "What ya doin'?"

"Sand castle." Gaara replied, not looking up as he continued to try to shape the sand.

"Can I help?"

"Why?"

"'Cause it looks like fun!"

"Are you new here?" Gaara asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Yup!!" the blonde said, flashing him a bright fox like smile, "Now can I play with you?"

The redhead stared at him for a moment, still not entirely sure this wasn't another prank or if his could trust this boy. "Sure." he said at last.

-End Flashback-

Naruto smiled at the memory. He had stopped pumping his legs and was slowly stopping. "Remember that time I pushed you off the swing? Heh heh. You got so mad at me."

Gaara couldn't help but smirk at the memory. "And then I didn't talk to you for a week."

"Yeah…" he said, finally stopping. He leaned his forehead against one of the metal chains in his hand, watching the older boy as he stared off into space, lost in a memory. "Oi, Gaara." he called, "Gaara…Gaara!" He reached out and poked the non-responsive boy in the side, causing him to flinch and squeak as he came crashing back to the present.

The redhead glared at the younger boy who was laughing. "What?" he snapped.

"I…I didn't know you were ticklish!" he said in between fits of laughter.

"I'm not!" he protested, crossing his arms and walking a little bit away.

"Sure." said Naruto, his voice dripping in sarcasm as he walked up behind the older boy and grabbed his sides, chuckling as the redhead squirmed and attempted to hide his laughter.

"Stop it, Naruto." Gaara said, straining to keep his face straight. He tried to get away from the blonde boy, but only ended up tripping somehow managing to turn himself around on his way down and bring Naruto with him.

Gaara propped himself up with his elbows, a blush slowly crossing his pale cheeks as he stared up into the intent eyes of the blonde on his hands and knees above him. Naruto slowly leaned down, closing the distance between them and gently pressing their lips together, closing his eyes. Gaara's eyes, however, widened in shock, automatically responding to the kiss. The blonde nibbled on his lower lip and the older boy whimpered. Realizing what he was doing, he slapped the younger boy across the face, leaving a hand shaped red mark on his cheek. Anger flared in his eyes, "What are you doing?!" he yelled, "You cheat on me and then assume I'll just welcome you back with arms wide open? You think jus saying your sorry will instantly make everything all better?! Scratch that, you haven't even apologized yet!"

Naruto bowed his head, angry with himself for not being able to control his actions. "Gaara," he said, still looking down, "I apologize for not respecting your feelings just now. I know I shouldn't have kissed you." He paused, looking Gaara in the eyes, "However, I'm not going to apologize for kissing Sasuke. At least now with out having you listen to the whole story first. It was an accident, and I don't feel I should have to apologize for something I didn't even want to happen."

Gaara glared at the younger blonde boy, a look of anger, confusion, and hurt dancing around his pale green eyes. They sat there, glaring at each other (Naruto got off Gaara when his was slapped), until the redhead finally spoke. "Fine tell me your story."

Relief washed over Naruto's face at these words. "After I left you, I went into the class and Sasuke was upset because he was being picked on. So I lied about taking him having a fever and pretended to take him to the nurse's but took him to the roof to talk. We were going to go back to class, and he offered me a hand up. I slipped and we fell and ended up kissing and then that's when you came up and accidentally locked us on the roof."

Gaara stared blankly at the blonde, no emotion showing in his pale green eyes, obviously finding his rather ridiculous sounding story hard to accept. "Why should I believe you?"

To be continued…

(a/n: i'm sorry!!! i had to end it there of the next chapter wouldn't work! please forgive me!!!)


	6. Open Ended Answers

**Chapter 6: Open Ended Answers**

(fore notes: I had a little bit of trouble with this chappy…lots of writers block…any who, I'd like to thank Latias Erin Mangekyou for her awesome, helpful reviews! I have you're reply at the end of the chapter. ON WITH THE STORY!!!)

Bright blue eyes searched the pale green ones of the boy in front of him, looking for anything to tell him what the older boy was thinking at that moment as he waited for a response. When the red head did say something, the blonde felt a sudden surge of sadness, guilt and anger rip through him, "Why should I believe you?" Those words cut through him like ice, of a jagged sword. "Why should I believe that the whole thing was really a big misunderstanding?"

Naruto couldn't help it as a scowl formed on his face, "Because it's the truth! You think I'd do anything to intentionally hurt you?"

"No, but I also don't think the whole think was an accident. God knows how long you've had a crush on him, chasing after him in a vain attempt to win his affection like a love sick little puppy dog, tending to his every beck and call despite how poorly he treats you and no matter how many times he pushes you away."

"As you said, _had_ a crush on him, as in I don't anymore. The only feelings I have for him now are friendship. I told you before, I'm over him."

"Naruto, that was five days ago. Five days. You've had a crush on him for two or three _years_. You can't be completely over him in only five days. It's impossible for you to forget all the feelings you felt towards him, especially in that short of a time frame. Feelings aren't like toys that you can pick up and drop at will." Gaara half yelled, finding it hard to control his voice and face.

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows, making no attempt to disguise his emotions, "I know!!" he yelled, tears welling up in his tightly closed eyes, one managing to slide down his tanned cheek despite his protests, "I know." His voice was considerably lower than before, his teeth clenched and his breath coming in short, shaky gasps.

Gaara inwardly chided himself for making the only person who had ever cared for him cry, guilt starting to eat at his insides. Despite this, Gaara continued to wear his emotionless mask, the only thin that had helped him throughout his childhood and continued to provide a sort of refuge for him.

Naruto ground his teeth. The knuckles on his tightly clenched fist turning white as he dug his fingernails deeper into his palms. "I know that feelings aren't something you should play around with, and I know how hard it is for you to trust." He looked up at the older boy, his big teary blue eyes filled with determination as they locked with the cold green ones of the taller boy as he continued, "I know what it's like to be in love and about all the questions and insecurities that comes with it. I also know what it's like to keep a secret from the person you love with all your heart." Although he didn't show it, Gaara felt hurt and betrayed by these words, especially the last sentence and he inwardly cringed, breaking the eye contact between him and the blonde.

They stared at each other for a minute, Naruto still panting slightly from his rant while Gaara remained almost motionless, an awkward silence quickly filling the space between them. "That still doesn't answer my question." Gaara said, his voice a forced calm, as he shifted his weight to one leg, "Why should I believe you?"

"If you don't believe me, that means you don't trust me," his voice sounded defeated, as if he was giving up the fight, "and if you don't trust me, there's probably noting in the world that would convince you. So," he paused, grabbing Gaara's sleeve and kissing him lightly on the cheek, "goodbye, Gaara." He let go of the fabric and turned away, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Gaara slowly brought his hand up to touch the spot on his cheek Naruto had kissed. The reality of what had happened slowly dawning on him as he tried to blink back the tears welling up in his eyes. He had lost Naruto, the only person who had ever been kind to him without question and he had pushed the blonde away when he was finally starting to return his feelings and he had no one to blame but himself.

His breath came in shaky gasps as tears streamed down his face, not caring if anyone saw. Now he'd never be able to be with the blonde again. He could feel his knees growing week as he desperately wiped away the tears that wouldn't start stop coming.

The red head's eyes opened his surprise as he felt a pair of strong eyes wrap around his middle, helping him support his weight. Looking up he was met with a familiar shock of blonde hair resting on his shoulder.

"N-Naruto…"

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I never should have done that. I shouldn't have walked away from you."

Gaara wrapped his arms around Naruto's neck, clutching tightly at the cloth on the back of the younger boy's t-shirt, and buried his face in the crook of his neck. His whole body shaking from crying. "Don't…Don't ever leave me again." he said in between sobs.

"I won't, Gaara," Naruto gave the boy a reassuring squeeze, "I promise I'll never leave you."

The red head pulled back from the embrace, his arms still wrapped around the younger boy's neck and the two locked eyes, unconsciously moving closer to each other. Their lips tingled in anticipation as they felt the others breath gently caress their faces. After a moment they crushed their lips together in a passionate kiss. All the worry and lack of trust from only moments ago completely disintegrating as their tongues ventured inside each others mouth, memorizing everything about the foreign hot, wet cavern, before meeting and dancing to a tune unknown to anyone but the two boys sharing the kiss. Their intricate dance slowly turned into an all out war in their mouths, but pulling away before a definite winner could be decided.

Naruto grinned sheepishly at the older boy, still panting and mind still fogged up from the kiss, "Maybe we should get back to school, I seem to be skipping it a lot lately."

A small smile graced Gaara's lips as he wiped away the tear stains, "Yeah."

- - -

Sasuke stared out the classroom window. He hadn't been able to focus all morning, and, even though it was still first period, he felt like the day was never going to end. He didn't have Naruto in any of his classes accept for his one, so he'd have to wait until after school to talk to the blonde.

He was worried about what was taking his friend so long to get back to school, and almost jumped out of his seat when he saw the duo walking towards the school, hand in had. Almost.

Unfortunately for him, the bell chose to ring at that moment and he had to go to his next class on the other side of the school, not that he really cared about being late. He also thought it would be rude of him to go out of his way to interrupt the happy couple just to sooth his guilt, especially sense it had partially been his fault.

So, he was swept away with the crowd of students headed out the door and down the hall, away from the blonde and his red headed boyfriend.

All through out the rest of the day he heard girls gossip about the new rumors circulating the entire school about what Naruto and Gaara had been doing while skipping first period together, the most popular , albeit least liked by the majority of the school, were ones involving them having gay sex among other dirty things. Another popular theory, though not entirely relevant, was that Sasuke had infected his friend with his 'gay-ness,' one girl even had the audacity to come up to him and ask him why he was turning everyone over to the 'queer side' before she rand away in tears.

- - -

Sasuke patiently waited for his friend at the front door. The bell having wrung several minutes ago, he started feeling rather foolish as he stood there, alone, arms crossed, and looking a little like a lost puppy, though without the whole 'somebody rescue me' air hanging about him.

Finally he spotted the duo, coming from another exit, hand in hand, walking through the sea of people who parted for them as if he were Moses, though I think 'had the plague' would be better in this case. You could tell by the looks on their faces (Naruto's at least) that the looks they were receiving from everybody was more than a little unnerving, to say the least, as everyone around them became silent and watched their every move with intent, disgusted stares.

They did the same for the raven-haired boy as he slowly approached them as nonchalantly as possible. "I need to talk with you guys." he muttered, trying not to make it look like he was purposely trying to make it so no one but them could hear, ignoring the hushed whispers that followed them.

"We know." Naruto replied, his gaze shifting nervously about the crowd, not liking being treated like this.

Gaara gave the younger boy's hand a reassuring squeeze and Naruto have him a grateful smile before returning the gesture.

"Let's get out of here." Sasuke muttered, leading the group as he quickened his pace, wanting nothing more than for things to go back to normal; for Naruto and him to be friends again, and to run home to Itachi and be met with his brothers warm, loving embrace.

Sasuke continued to lead the group off of the school grounds, absorbed in his thought as he wandered aimlessly through the streets, the pair of boys following behind him, not sure where they were being led, but unwilling to ask.

It wasn't until a while later that Sasuke finally snapped out of it. He stopped in his tracks and looked around, making the two boys behind him crash into him.

"What was that for, teme?" asked Naruto angrily.

"Where are we?" questioned the ravonette, blinking as he turned around in a slow circle, taking in his surroundings.

"How would we know? You're the one who was leading us!"

Sasuke pulled out his cell phone to call Itachi and tell him to come find them and pick them up, only to find the screen flash 'low battery, powering off' at him mockingly before the screen went black. "Neither of you happen to have a cell phone, do you?"

Both boys shook their heads, "Jiraiya won't let me get one and Gaara can't afford one."

"Crud."

To be continued…

(a/n: sorry it took so long to update, but i had major writers block in the middle of the chapter, and, about the ending, i'm sorry, but i just had to, and sorry for the lack of itasasu-ness -- i promise to put some in next time. oh! and i'm re-naming this 'brotherly love 2' as it is a sequel and because i can't think of an official really cool amazing title.

Latias Erin Mangekyou- thank you, again, for your review!! it really made me happy, and, yes, Naruto is seme, but for those of you who like him as uke, you can keep on believing that, as i'm not going to get into that kind of stuff. Anyways, i enjoy re-reading all the good points you put down, it makes me feel like i'm not a completely horrible author, and i'm trying to work on the 'bad points,' (and i had more stuff about their pasts in the previous story) thank you, like, a bazillion times for all your help, and i'm going to start reading the stories you sent me!)


	7. When You've Lost Your Way

**Chapter 7: When you've lost your way**

"Neither of you happen to have a cell, do you?" asked Sasuke hopefully as he watched the screen on his die.

Naruto and Gaara shook their heads in response, "Jiraiya won't let me get one, and Gaara can't afford one." the blonde offered.

"Crud." Sasuke said, having a few other choice words he'd like to add to that, but decided against it, "So now how do we get home?"

"We could retrace our steps." suggested Gaara, moving closer to the blonde.

"No, we need to stay still!" exclaimed the blonde enthusiastically, "You know how when we were little. They always said 'if you're lost, stay in one place, then you'll be found!' Quick! Pick a pose!" Naruto struck a pose, lifting one foot up in the air and put his free hand up near his face.

"Dobe. That might work, but, two things: we're not in the middle of the woods, and no body knows we're lose. I say we go with Gaara's plan."

Naruto lost his balance and almost landed face first in the side walk, but Gaara put out a protective arm and caught the blonde. Once he was safely back on his feet, the three boys turned around to face the general direction of where they had come from. "Any clue where we go after this street?"

"I think we took a left, so…right?" asked Sasuke, temporarily letting his uneasiness show through, but he quickly covered it up, putting on his over confident 'superior-than-thou' look back on.

"We could ask someone for directions." Naruto said, resting his head on Gaara's shoulder.

Sasuke promptly turned to glare at the blonde. "Uchiha's do not ask for directions."

"Well, this Uzumaki does, teme!"

"Naruto, you really want to go up to one of those houses?" asked Gaara nonchalantly, nodding his head towards the boarded up windows and abandoned looking yards.

"No…"

And so, the three boys began their trek through the foreign part of town, temporarily calling off their argument until they found their way home. Many wrong turns, about a hundred mini arguments, and about an hour later, they had finally started to vaguely recognize their surroundings. Relief washed over the group as they passed their school.

"Spill it, Uchiha." said Naruto, plopping himself down on the grass, grabbing Gaara by the waist and putting the older boy down on his lap. Sasuke shot the blonde a questioning look, raising one of his delicate pencil thin eyebrows. "You said you wanted to talk," he continued, resting his chin on the red head's shoulder, "we're listening."

Sasuke stared down at the two boys, trying to figure out how best to word what he wanted to say. He sat down in front of them, dusting off an invisible speck of dust from the knee of his pants. He stared at the grass, a light breeze blowing through his dark hair.

"Well…" Naruto said impatiently, cocking am eyebrow at the silent boy.

"I'm sorry." he said at last, head still bowed.

The blonde smiled widely, nuzzling the soft red hair of his boyfriend. "I'm sorry, too."

Sasuke looked up and locked eyes with the younger boy. Was it really that simple? The solution to the problem was that easy? Though his pride still felt slightly deflated, he heart felt lighter.

"Forgive me, ne?" asked Naruto.

"Sasuke smirked at the younger boy, "Sure." he said, adding a 'dobe' as an after thought.

"Teme." countered the blonde, thought it came out more playfully than anything else.

- - -

"I'm home!" called Sasuke as he closed the door to his house and kicked off his shoes.

Itachi suddenly appeared in the door frame leading to the hall, relief visible on his face. "Where were you, I was worried."

Sasuke walked up to his brother and threw his arms around the older boy's neck, arching his back as Itachi snaked his arms around his waist. "Repairing a friendship."

Itachi smirked, kissing the boy along his jaw bone before hovering above the younger boy's lips. "And how was school?" Sasuke shivered as Itachi's warm breath spread across his face, disappearing quickly, only to be replaced with the older boy's lips.

"As anti-gay as ever." he said in between chaste kisses.

"Fun." Itachi said, more commenting than replying. Before licking lips with his brother in a demanding kiss. He gently nibbled on the younger boy's lower lip, silently asking permission to deepen the kiss, enjoying the soft mewls that the younger boy made.

Sasuke almost immediately granted him access, thrusting his tongue into his older brother's hot we cavern, exploring the familiar place with his tongue moaning as Itachi gave him the same treatment. He smiled to himself when he made Itachi moan, mentally punching the air for his victory.

After a moment he wordlessly challenged his brother's tongue to a fight to the death, trying his hardest to dominate the kiss, but his attempts were fruitless.

They pulled away, gasping for air, a trail of saliva connecting their mouths. "You could say that." Sasuke said, continuing their conversation as if nothing had happened.

Itachi leaned down, resting his fore head on his brother's, arms still tightly wrapped around the younger boy's slim waist. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Of course." he said, kissing his older brother on the lips, "I've got Naruto, and more importantly, you. What more could I need?"

"A dance?" Itachi asked, turning on the radio before bowing lightly to his brother, offering the younger boy his hand.

"Of course." Sasuke said with a smirk, also bowing before taking the offered hand and allowing himself to be swept around the room. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Owari

(a/n: i am sad to say that's it. i'm thinking about making a third part to the series, but if i did, it would be set a few years in the future. what do you think?)


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